Vehicle-wheel.



N. SCHENK. VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1007.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

N. SCHENK.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 3, 1907.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NICHOLAS SCHENK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

950,407, Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 22, 191() Appflication filed May 3, 1907. Serial No. 371,716.

To all whom it may concern: a plurality of devices separated from each Be it known that I, NICHOLAS SCHENK, other and interposed between the pneumatic a citizen of the United States, residing at cushion and the rim section so that said St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain. cushion will not bear throughout its entire 60 new and useful Improvement in Vehiclesurface upon both of said sections, thereby Wheels, of which the following is a full, enabling said cushion to absorb the shocks clear, and exact description, such as will or jars to which the rim section is subjected enable others skilled in, the art to which it as it passes over obstructions in the road. appertains to make'and use the same, refer- Other desirable features of my invention 65 ence being had to the accompanying drawwill be hereinafter pointed out.

ings, forming part of this specification, in Referring to Fi s. 1 and 2 of the drawings whicha which illustrate t e preferred form of my Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel coninvention, 1 designates the hub of the wheel structed in accordance with my invention, provided with roller bearers that travel on 70 some of the parts being broken away to more the axle 2. Said hub has its outer ends reclearly show the construction of the wheel; duced, and mounted on these reduced por- Fig. 2 is a cross sectionalview of the wheel tions of the hub are pairs of plates 3 and 4, shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional the plates of each air being held spaced view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. apart by means of a ller 5 and being rigidly 75 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a connected to the hub, preferably by means portion of the wheel showin the mechanof bolts 6 that extend through the central ism that is employed for ho ding the two enlarged ortion of the hub, as shown sections of thewheel in their normal posiclearly iii ig. 3. i 4 tions when the pneumatic cushion becomes The rim section of the wheel comprises 80 deflated; Fig. 5 IS a side elevational view of an inside metallic member A and anoutside parts of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4:; member B which support a metallic rim Fig. 6 is a detail top plan view of the brake in which a rubber tread 8 is mounted. The shown inoperative position in Fig. 2; and central portions 9 of these side members A r Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of the expanand B are telesco ed between the pairs of 85 .30 sion plates of the brake. plates 3 and i of t e hub section so that the T111 inv n ion relates V h Wheels, hub and rim sections will be held in vertical and particularly to that type which comalinement with each'other, said side memprise a hub section and a rim sect on adapted bers being provided at their centers with to move relatively to each other in a vertical openings 10 that permit the hub and mm 90 plane and having a pneumatic cushion arsections to move relatively to each other in ranged between said sections toabsorb the a vertical plane. For transmitting rotary shocks or jars which'the rim section receives movement from one section to the other as it passes over obstructions in the road. have provided each of the side members The main object of my invention is to proand B with a pair of rolls 11 that operate in- 95 40 vide a wheel of-the character described which elon ated' depressions 12 formed in the pairs presents a neat and ornamental appearance of p ates 3 and 4: of the hub section, said and which is absolutely dust and water rol1ers-*being mounted on pins that are cars .I fried by the central portions 9 of. the side Another object of my invention is to promembers, as shown in Fig. 2. vide a wheel that is light and stron and I do not wish it to be understoodthat my I which can be manufactured at a smalT cost. invention is limited to (the construction here Another object is to rovide a wheel of the in shown for transmitting rotary movement character described w ich is provided with from one section to the other as var ous means for enabling the wheel to be used even means could be employed for accomplishing 105 after the pneumatic cushion therein has be- I this result. v

come deflated. And still another object of The side members A and B comprise spoke my invention is to provide a wheel comprisportions 13 which are approximately semiing a rim sectionand a hub sectlon adapted circular in cross section, as shown in Fig; 3, p

to move relatively to each other in'a vertisaid spoke portions embracing wooden 110 L cal plane, an inflated cushion arranged bespokes 14 that proyect radially from a felly 15 preferably formed of wood and arrange y *tween the hub section and rim section, and

between the side members of the rim section.

' that extend through the spoke portions 13 and also through the wooden spokes, the metallic ri 7 being preferably secured to the outer e ds of said spokes bymeans of screws or other fastening devices. A metallic ring or tread 17 ,is preferably arranged inside of the wooden felly'and forms a track for a plurality of bearing members 18 that rest upon the outer surface of a pneumatic cushion 19 which surrounds the hub 1, means being provided for.preventing said cushion from creeping on the hub. The means herein shown consists of projections 19 on the cushion which project into recesses in the periphery of the hub but it will, of course, be understood that this could be accomplished in numerous ways.

As shown in Fig. 1, the bearing members 18 are separated or arranged quite a dis- .tance from each other and are connected together by links 20 so that the rim section only bears at a few points upon the pneumatic cushion, thereby enabling said cushion to more readily take up or absorb the shocks and jars of the rim section than if the cushion was snugly embraced by the rim section. The bearing members 18 herein shown consist of concaved rollers but if desired other forms of rollers could be used or, in' fact, any suitable devices that would hold the rim section out of contact with the cushion.

For preventing dirt, water or any other foreign substance from entering the joints between the telescoping plates of the rim and hub sections I have provided the outside member B of the rim section with a removable cap 21 that extends completely over the central portion 9 of said member and the inside member A with a flexible cover 22 that is connected at its outer edge to the side 5 member A and at its inner edge to the outside plate 4 of the hub section, said cover being approximately the same shape as a washer. The outside cap 21 is formed in one piece and is provided at its edge with an inwardly projecting flange 23 that is screwthreadedand engages cooperating screwthreads on a laterally projecting circular flange 24 on the central portion ofthe side member B. At the center of the cap is a knob, 25 which enables'the cap to be'turned and also presents a finished appearance to the wheel. The flexible cover 22 on the in ner side of the wheel is preferably made of oiled silk or some other suitable water-proof material. The inner and outer edges of the ple'ce of material which formsthe'cover 22 are connected-to split rings 26 and 27, the outer ring being in the form of a contraction spring and the inner ring in the form of an expansion spring. 'The outer ring 26 fits over a laterally projecting L-shaped flange 28 on the central portion of the side member A, and the inner ring 27 fits inside of an L-shaped flange 29 on the plate 4 of the hub section. The tension of these rings will'retain said cover in position but to absolutely prevent accidental displacement of same I prefer to use auxiliary spring rings 26 and 27.

dirt or water to get into the interior of the wheel as the joints between the telescoping plates of the rim and hub sections are protected by covers or caps 'of greater diameter than the plates 3 and 4 of the hub section. The wheel is practically water-tight and if desired the interior of the wheel can be filled with graphite or some other suitable lubricant that will keep the sliding parts of the wheel thoroughly lubricated. Furthermore, the cap 21 hides the hub section of the wheel from View so that in appearance the wheel is substantially the same as the usual automobile wheel. Y

The wheel herein shown is adapted to be used on a vehicle employing a wheel drive instead of an axle drive so that the. side member A is provided with a sprocket wheel 30 over which the driving chain, passes. It will be obvious, however,

that this same construction could be embodied in a wheel to be used on a vehicle employing an axle drive, the only sub-' stantial difference being that the hub would be secured directly to the axle instead of being rotatably mounted thereon.

The wheel herein shown is provided with a brake that I think is of-novel construction and which consists of a plate 31 secured to the outside face of the sprocket wheel 30 and adapted to be clamped between members i on the axle hereinafter described, sald plate being provided at its center with an open ing 31 to provide for the relative vertical movement of the hub and rim sections. The members on the axle which clamp the brake plate '31 consist of two disks. 32. and 32, having square openings which fit over the square portion 2 of the axle so that said disks can move longitudinally of the axle but are prevented from rotating relatively thereto, and also two expansion plates 33, 33 interposed between the outside disk 32 and-the .brake plate 31, the inside disk32 being arranged on the inner side of the brake plate, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. Said disks are provided on their outer faces with strengthenin ribs and are connected together by bo ts 34 which extend through a spacing member 35 mounted on the squared portion of the shaft and provided with a circular periphery. The expansion plates are rotatably. mounted on said spacing member and are provided on their inner faces 1 with -co6perating oppositely inclined pro- With a construction of this character it will be absolutely impossible for V inwardly from nected at its lower end by a pin 2O vided with friction'faces of any suitable enables the-w I blocks 40 in their normal the vertical planes in whic passin" jections 36, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6. Rotary movement in opposite directions is imparted to these expansion plates so as to cause the inclined projections 36 toride upon each other aiid thus force the plates apart, by means of a manually operated lever 37, pivotally mounted on a pin 38 projecting the outer disk 32 and con- 39 to one of the expansion plates and by means of pins 39 to the other expansion plate, the lever between the pins 39, and the expansion ,p ates being provided with elongated slotsto receive the pivot pin 38, as shown in Fig. 7 When the expansion plates are forced apart by actuating the lever 37 the brake plate 31 will be firmly clamped between the inside disk 32 and the inside expansion plate 33 so that the wheel will come to rest. Preferably, the brake plate is promaterial and the cooperating members are also provided with friction faces.

In Figs. 4 and- 5 I have shown my improved wheel rovided with mechanism that eel to be used even after the pneumatic cushion has become punctured so that 1n case ofsuch an accident while out on I the road the journey can be completed without damaging any of the parts of the wheel.

As shown in Fig. 4, the inside plate 3 of one air of plates of the hub section and the outslde plate 4 of the other pair are provided with a plurality of openings which receive blocks 40. and 40, respectively, of greater thickness than said plates. The blocks 40 at the outer side of the wheel are provided with L-shaped devices 41 and the blocks 40 at the inner side of the wheel are secured to rods 42 that extend through'the hub 1 and are provided at their outer ends with heads that extend over the heads of the devices 41 on the outside blocks 40. Each of said rods 42 is surrounded by a coiled expansion spring 43 that is interposed between the hub and the inside block 40 to which the inner end of the rod is connected. A split band spring 44 which lies against ribs 45 on the outside face. of the plate 4 extends underneath the heads of the devices 41 of all of the blocks 40 and thus holds said blocksand the inside Ipositions out of the portions 9 of the rim section lie, thereby permitting said portions to slide between the pairs of plates 3 and 4 of the hub section without coming in contact with said blocks. The band spring 44 is retained in operative position by means of a pivoted devlce 46 carried by the outside plate 4 and extending over the lapped ends of the band spring, said device elng pressed down upon the band s ring by means of a link 47 connected to -t e outer end of a lever 48 secured to' the plate '4 and acted upon by a leaf-sprihg 49.

vters Patent is:

'vided with two pairs of plates,

j A rod 50 which is connected to the inner end of the lever 48 lies in a slot in the plate 4 and the inner endof said rod projects into the opening between the pair of plates 3. and 4 at a point adjacent the hub, as shown 1n Fig. 4.

The 0 eration of this mechanlsm is as follows: n'case the pneumatic tube should become deflated the hub section will drop down onto the rim section and thus cause the portion 9 of the side member B to engage the inner end of the rod 50 when it comes around to the lower side of the wheel and thus actuate the lever 48, thereby elevating the link47 so that the pressure on the lapped 30 ends of the spring band 44 is removed. aid spring band will then fly off the devices 41. of' the outer blocks 40 and the expansion springs 43 will then force the inner blocks 40 and also the outer blocks 40 into the paths of movement of the portions 9 of the rim section and thus rigidly support the IlIl'l section, said blocks corresponding in depth to the distance between the edges of the central openings in the portions 9 and the tillers 5 that are interposed between the palrs of plates 3 and 4. l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 1. A wheel comprising a hub section, a rim section, telescoping members on sa1d respective sections, means for preventing relative rotating movement of said sections, a single pneumatic cushion arranged between the hub section and rim section and mounted on the hub section, a ring-shaped track or tread secured to the rimsection and spaced away from said cushion, roller bearings m- I ter osed between said ring and said cushion, 5 an means for holding said bearings'in a predetermined position; substantially as described.

2. A wheel comprising a hub having its end portions reduced,'a pair of lates spaced away from each other and rigi ly connected to each of the reduced end portions of the hub, a rim section provided with two indeendent portions each of which telescopes Eetween a pair of said plates, venting relative rotating movement of the rim section and hub,.a pneumatic cushion mounted on the hub, a metallic ring-shaped track surrounding said cushion and spaced away therefrom, roller bearings interposed between said track and cushion, and l1nl(S connectin said bearings together; substantially as escribed.

3. A wheel comprising a hub section proa rim sect on consisting of metallic siddmembers having I portions which telescope betweenthe plates of said pairs, spoke portions, a metalhc r1m in which a tread is mounted and a r1ngshaped track clamped between the side memmeans for pre- 115 bers', a neumatic cushion surrounding the hub an having ltS outer surface spaced away from the track of the rim section, and bearing members interposed between said cushion and said track; substantially as described.

4. A wheel of the character described;

' pairs of plates, a rim sect on comprising side members that telescope with said plates,-a

pneumatic cushion arranged between said hub section and rim section, a laterally projecting flange formed on one of the side members of the rim section, a laterally projecting flange formed on one of the plates of the hub section, a flexible cover of approximately washer shape provided at its inner tien; substantially as described.

and outer edges with split rings that engage said flanges to retain the cover in position, and a cap provided with a screw-threaded flange that engages a screw-threaded flange on, one of the side members of the rim sec- G. A .wheel of the character comprising a -hub section provided'with pairs of plates, a rim sect-ion having mem-.

bers which telescope within said plates, a pneumatic cushion arranged between said hub and rim section, and automatically operated mechanism which moves into position between the hub and rim sections when the pneumatic cushion becomes deflated; substantially as described? 7. A wheel of the character described, comprising a hub section provided with pairs of plates, a rim section having portions which are in telescopic engagement with said plates, a pneumatic cushionar ranged between said hub and rim sections, movable blocks permanently. connected to the hub section, and automatic means for forcing said blocks into position to support the telescopic portions of the rim section when the pneumatic cushion becomes de-, flated; substantially as described.

8, A wheelcomprising a hub provided with pairs of plates, a rim section comprising side members which are telescoped be I tween said pairs of plates and are provided with central openings to permit the hub and rim sectionsto move relatively to each other in a vertical plane,a pneumatic cushion arranged betweenthe hub and rim sections, a plurality of blocks carried by the pairs of plates of the hub section, devices projecting described,

laterally from said blocks, a spring band engaging said .devices to hold said blocks normally in inoperative position, means for releasing said spring band when the pneumatic cushion becomes deflated, and means for forcin said blocks into engagement with the si e members of the rim section to rigidly support same; substantially as described. 1 j

9. A wheel comprisin a hub section provided with pairs of p ates, a rim section provided with side members which are telescoped between said plates, a pneumatic cushion arranged between the hub section and rim-section, a plurality of blocks mounted in the pairs of plates of the hub sections of each side of the wheel, devices connected to the blocks at one side of the wheel, a spring band engaging said devices and having its ends lapped, a device for exerting pressure on the lapped ends of said band, means for actuating said devicewhen the pneumatic cushion becomes deflated so that said spring band can move out of engagement with the devices on the blocks, and

means for moving the sets of blocks at each wheel, means for holding said blocks nor nially 1n lnoperative position, and means for forcing said blocks into engagement with the side members of the rim section to rigidly support same when the pneumatic cushion becomes deflated; substantially as described.

11. A wheel comprising a hub section,-a

rim section, a single pneumatic cushion arranged between said sections, and a plurality of freely movable or shiftable bearing devices separated from each other and interposed between the pneumatic cushion and the rim section so that the rim sectionwill rest directly on said devices and said devices will rest directly on the cushion; substantially as described 12. In a wheel, a rim section, a hub section, a single pneumatic cushion arranged between said sections and mounted on the hub section, a plurality of separated bearing devices'interposed between said cushion and said rim section and resting upon said cush ion, and means for connecting said bearing devices together so that all of them can shifter move simultaneously relatively to the hub and rim-sections and to the cushion v scribed.

upon which they rest; substantially as de- 13. A driving hub section, a rim section, means to prevent the relative sidewise movement of the sections, a pneumatic cushion arranged between the sections, and automatically operating mechanism which moves into position between the sections when the pneumatic cushvehicle wheel comprising a l ion becomes deflated during rotation of the 10 wheel under load.

I In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my l signature in the presence of two witnesses,

1 this thirtieth day of April 1907.

i NICHOLAS SCHENK.

l \Vitnesses:

! \VELLs L. CHURCH,

l Gnon'cn BAKEWELL. 

